Round The States
New
Delhi, 20 September 2012
Mamata Pull Out
STATES SEEK POUND OF
FLESH?
By Insaf
Thanks to West
Bengal other States can extract their pound of flesh from the
Centre. With Chief Minister and Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee deciding to
pull out of the UPA-II on the issue of FDI in retail, cap on subsidised LPG
cylinders and diesel price hike regional satraps are weighing their future
options carefully. For starters, statements from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are worth a watch. UP’s ruling Samajwadi Party, has
given ample hint that it is willing to support for now but is unsure for how
long. Should UP-II construe this as a
quid pro quo? Let us not forget that supremo, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has
Prime Ministerial ambition is facing CBI probe in one case or another, like his
bête noire BSP leader Mayawati. The latter too is non-committal and will take a
decision only next month. While it is uncertain how much of pressure the two
will be able to yield on the Congress high command, the State could gain with
some more sops. Recall, that only recently, the Centre had cleared Rs. 45,000
crore package for UP, conceding almost half of the demand (Rs 93,000 crore) made
by the Akhilesh Yadav government. This was close on the heels of the
Presidential and Vice-presidential elections.
Close on the heels of UP, Bihar too is sending out signals to the Centre. Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar, however, has been rather upfront. Viewing the situation
created by Mamata as “critical”’s he took the opportunity to send out a message
on Wednesday last. “I will extend support to anyone in the formation of the
next Government if it grants special status to Bihar," he stated during
rallies in the district headquarters of West and East
Champaran. While he did not categorically say that he was willing
to fill the vacuum created by Mamata, his statement cannot be dismissed as a
mere “political stunt” as described by rival Lalu Prasad. Let us keep in mind
that like Mulayam, he too is eyeing the top post at the Centre. The big
question doing the rounds is whether he is willing to swap partners for the
next Lok Sabha polls? He might just as he too has a demand list. Among others
he wants New Delhi
to help expand the thermal power station at Barauni and pay the bills for the
National Highways repairs. Will his wish list come true soon?
* * * *
TN-Karnataka
Row
A solution to the Cauvery water
dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka remains elusive. As New Delhi failed miserably on Wednesday last
to bring about a rapprochement, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha has set
her eyes on the Supreme Court to get relief. Her counterpart, Jagdish Shettar too
not only turned down Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s formula of awarding 9000
cusecs of water every day for 25 days till October 15 to its neighbour to save
the standing crops, but simply walked out of the meeting. Not even a drop of
water would be given, was his assertion as the State was reeling under severe
drought! As it turned out, his justification was immaterial. Jayalalitha too
wasn’t willing to compromise on her State’s demand of 2 tmcft water for 24 days
or 1 tmcft for 30 days. Sadly, neither of the two has given a thought to saving
the standing crop!
* * * *
Punjab Corruption
The SAD-BJP government in Punjab is pink with embarrassment. Following conviction
of two ministers (Bibi Jagir Kaur and Tota Singh) in the recent past, it now
has a third wicket down. On Sunday last, Cabinet Minister for Animal Husbandry,
Fisheries, Dairy Development and SC/BC Welfare Gulzar Singh Ranike handed in
his resignation to Chief Minister Badal. Apparently, his son and staff have
reportedly made a good buck on development and welfare schemes meant for
villages. While Ranike has been overseeing these departments since 2007,
corruption charges only started surfacing in 2011. Internal inquiry so far
reveals that Rs 2 crore is alleged to have been siphoned off from the
Minister’s discretionary funds in 2011-12 and another Rs 50-odd lakhs through
the Border Area Development Programme funds. Clearly, the Government which got
an unprecedented second term only this March had better put its house in order
before disillusionment sets in. It can ill-afford more scandals.
* * * *
States’
Mixed Response
The Centre will be able to gauge the
people’s mood over its bid to push reforms. On Thursday last, UPA-ruled and
Opposition States gave a mixed response to the Bharat bandh called by the NDA,
the Left and the SP to protest UPA’s decision to hike diesel prices, allow FDI
in multi-brand retail and cap subsidy on LPG. While road and rail traffic was
disrupted in parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha, the protest
had little impact in Maharashtra (thanks to Ganapati celebrations) and national
capital Delhi. Traders in most States, however, ensured that the markets
remained closed for better half of the day, especially in capitals such as Lucknow,
Guwahati and Patna. In the North-East, while Assam witnessed closure of educational
institutions, banks and private offices remained closed and little traffic on
roads, the bandh was hardly noticed in Sikkim. Schools, colleges, government
offices and banks were open and vehicles plied as usual on the roads. While
leaders of various parties, which called the bandh may have shared a platform,
the ruling dispensation can study State-wise reports and comfortably take a
decision of how much leeway it can take.
* * * *
Ganapati
Dress Code
Youngsters may need to watch what
they wear for the Ganapati festival in Maharashtra. The Andheri mandal in
Mumbai which draws nearly two lakh devotees, has for the first time issued a
dress code. Nobody above 13 years of age will be allowed to enter the mandal in
shorts, miniskirts and clothes above the knees. The reason cited by the
organisers of Andhericha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal is simple i.e. over
the years many devotees came dressed in “outrageous, offensive and even
downright unacceptable clothes.” This has been viewed as not only an insult to
the sombreness of the festivity but also caused unwanted distractions and even
offended the sensibilities of other devotees. With the festivities in full
swing since Wednesday last, the ban would among others ensure a smile on Lord
Ganesh.---INFA
(Copyright, India News
and Feature Alliance)
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